


Blood of Zeus Rambles, One Shots, and Imagines

by Love_of_fandoms



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Blood of Zeus (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Can be read as reader-insert, Cute, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Meet-Cute, Multi, Reader-Insert, Romance, Shyness, platonic fluff, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Love_of_fandoms/pseuds/Love_of_fandoms
Summary: I take requests! There will be more one shots to come! If you'd like to request something, please send it through my tumblr: @love-of-fandomsIf you do not have a tumblr, leave your request in the comments section!
Relationships: Apollo/Original Female Character(s), Apollo/Reader, Hera (Blood of Zeus)/Original Female Character, Hera (Blood of Zeus)/Reader, Hera/reader, Hermes (Blood of Zeus)/Original Character(s), Hermes (Blood of Zeus)/Reader, Hermes/Reader
Comments: 29
Kudos: 76





	1. Moonflowers Apollo + OC

**_Prompt: “Do you think the moon is jealous of how pretty you are?”_ **

It was a rare, calm day at the peak of Mount Olympus when Apollo saw it. Nobody was screaming at anyone for cheating, Zeus’ long list of bastards weren’t being harassed for their illegitimate status, and there were no impending threats.

As such, Apollo was able to peacefully stare off the balcony and watch the mortals uninterrupted. He wasn’t watching anything in particular, just observing, eyes flitting from place to place. Occasionally he’d spot one of his many ex-lovers, though to call them _ex_ lovers always sounded wrong. To be someone’s ex implied bad blood between them, but Apollo never created false expectations. He was upfront in the fact that he didn’t _do_ romance, and while he would say pretty words and was always up for sex or cuddling, there wouldn’t be any relationship, not one with commitment, at least. So when he would spot someone he had taken to bed, he would smile slightly, or frown if they weren’t doing well. But he wouldn’t intervene.

It wasn’t a person that caused his gaze to stop on a particular thing, though. Rather a beautiful garden.

There were many beautiful gardens all over the world, many just in Greece alone, but what had stood out at first with this garden was that it wasn’t some palace courtyard, or in the middle of a prosperous city. Neither was it in some rich merchant’s villa. This beautiful, well maintained garden was in the middle of a forest, the Efki Forest to be specific, with not a single town for miles around it. The god’s eyes narrowed in curiosity as he looked at it. There was a small cottage in the garden, and many animals roamed the gardens freely. He admired the beauty, content to look at it from afar, but his contentment to stay on Olympus was disrupted when he caught sight of a specific patch of flowers in the center of the garden.

 _Moonflowers_.

Flowers that bloomed only when the sun was set, or almost set. However, it was midday as Apollo gazed at the widely blooming moonflowers. Apollo barely processed a thought as his feet took him to where his chariot was kept, barely even noticed as he climbed on and allowed the horses to take him to the garden.

Moonflowers blooming during the day wasn’t just rare, it didn’t happen. It didn’t happen unless Artemis blessed them. So that begged the question, why had his twin blessed a random patch of flowers in a random, oddly placed garden? Motivated by his profound curiosity for the occurrence, and perhaps by the ache he felt whenever his sister was gone from Olympus. She had departed on a hunt two weeks ago, and knowing her she could be back today, or in a year.

Apollo stepped off his chariot, allowing the horses to go back to Olympus until he called for them. Looking around, he saw that the garden was even more vibrant up close, and surprisingly the animals were not skittish at all. While most would flee at the very sight of what appeared to be a gigantic human, these animals were calm, and some even approached him and rubbed against his legs. Apollo’s brows furrowed in confusion. He had seen this happen with Demeter and Persephone only a handful of times, Aphrodite once or twice, but most animals were just _normal_ around him. Not particularly frightened, but not particularly inclined to like him either. He crouched down, peering at the moonflowers curiously.

“Oh!” a soft voice exclaimed, and Apollo whipped around, standing as he did so, and the sudden movement caused the rabbit that had been curiously sniffing his toes to bolt off. Standing at the edge of the clearing, where the garden ended and the true forest began, was a human woman. She had long, brown hair, so long in fact that Apollo wasn’t sure it had even been cut, and wore a simple white dress that hung loosely around her pleasantly plump figure. She was short, not just because Apollo himself stood at 10 feet, but even for a human she would be considered short, just barely 5 feet, and in one of her hands she held a basket of what looked like mushrooms.

The two stared at each other for a moment, the human gaping, and Apollo simply studying her with his head tilted slightly to the side.

“Um, h-how may I be o-of serv-vice, Si-ir Apol-Apollo?” she stumbled out, bowing her head meekly, and Apollo’s eyes widened at her easy recognition of him, though beyond that he did not show his surprise.

“I was simply admiring this garden, little one,” he said with a soft smile, gesturing around the area, and the human nodded slowly. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she nodded again.

“Y-yes, I put a lo-a lot of work in-into it,” she stammered, and Apollo’s eyes widened once more, his smile becoming wider as well.

“Oh, this is your garden?” she nodded in confirmation, her hair falling down in front of her eyes as she did so, making her seem even more meek. “Then perhaps you can answer my question,” her face scrunched in worry at the statement.

“Wh-wh-what question?” Apollo chuckled then, the sound soft and sweet, causing the human’s tensed shoulders to relax unknowingly.

“Nothing bad, I assure you,” he said. “I simply wished to know how your moonflowers had come to be blessed by my twin?” he asked, and the woman’s face relaxed.

“Oh,” she sighed in relief. “They’re just such a pretty flower, and only blooming in my garden at night seemed like such a pity, since most only really appreciate it in the day, so I prayed to Artemis to allow them to bloom all the time,” Apollo’s eyes widened.

“And she granted your wish?” the woman nodded. 

“She was… impressed, I suppose,” she was no longer stuttering, Apollo was happy to note, she was clearly in her element talking about her garden, a sort of comfort zone, but her voice was so soft. It was pleasant, melodic even, if Apollo were to be poetic about it, which he always was, but quiet. He stepped closer, wishing to hear her better, and a slight pink came to her cheeks. Apollo thought it contrasted quite prettily with her sea green eyes, which he could see as she timidly rose a hand to brush her long unruly hair out of her face. “I have a-a way with animals,” she explained, gesturing to the animals calmly walking around them, and Apollo’s head tilted in confusion.

“I had wondered why they were so calm,” the woman smiled now, and Apollo’s breath was almost taken from him at the sight. It wasn’t a large smile, only a small quirk of her lips, but her eyes squinted and shone with a joy he couldn’t quite place, and Apollo thought it was one of the most beautiful sights he had seen in his long life.

“I don’t know why,” she began, walking over to a brown rabbit and sinking to sit on her knees in front of it. Instead of scurrying away, the rabbit actually hopped up to her, it’s ears perked happily. She reached down to stroke it across its head softly. “But my presence calms animals, and they make me happy,” her smile widened a bit as another rabbit hopped over, butting its head against the other’s as if fighting for her attention, though it was only an adorably friendly competition. “Call it a nice symbiosis, if you will,” Apollo nodded, approaching her slowly, not wishing to spook the rabbits. She glanced up at him, one corner of her lips quirking further up into a mirthful smirk. “Do you want to pet them?” she asked, gesturing to the rabbits, and Apollo simply nodded. “They’re siblings, Ruo and Dina,” she said, motioning for him to crouch down, he did so, reaching out his hand to stroke them, but he stopped when they flinched away. The woman giggled a bit, and Apollo felt a pleasant warmth spread through him at the sound. She reached for his own hand, stopping before she touched him, and he nodded his permission. She grabbed the back of his hand, and Apollo found himself in awe of just how… _tiny_ she was. Granted, he wasn’t even in his human, form, and thus was still _huge_ in comparison to all humans, but still. Her fingertips barely met the base of his own fingers as she guided his hand towards the rabbits. They sniffed him cautiously, before one of them hopped forward and rubbed its head against Apollo’s palm.

“Amazing,” he murmured, stroking softly down the rabbit’s neck and back, and the woman grinned.

“Isn’t it?” she exclaimed, allowing the other rabbit to hop up into her lap and snuggle into her soft thighs. Her hand left Apollo’s to stroke the rabbit, and the back of his hand felt suddenly cold without her contact. The woman hummed a nameless tune as they sat there, stroking the rabbits, and after a moment, Apollo realized something in horror.

“How rude of me,” he began, voice quiet as to not spook the animals. The woman’s brows furrowed as she turned her head to look at him. “I have not asked your name,” the woman smiled softly.

“Althaia, my lord,” she answered, and Apollo scowled at the title.

“There is no need to call me such things,” he assured her, hand leaving the rabbit to rest on her shoulder. She flinched in surprise, wide green eyes gazing up at him. For a moment he thought he recognized her eyes, but he ended up attributing it to the forest surrounding them. “Just Apollo will do,” she nodded shyly, her cheeks pink once more. “Are you alone here, Althaia?” she shivered slightly at the sound of her name in his voice, and Apollo relished in it.

“I-I have the animals,” she answered, gaze darting to the side, and Apollo sighed.

“But there are no other humans? Or perhaps nymphs?” she shook her head.

“I’m the only one,” she said, and Apollo hummed, displeased.

“Well that won’t do,” he said, and Althaia flinched.

“Wh-what do you m-mean?” Apollo was sad to hear her stutter return as she asked him that.

“You can’t be alone for so long, humans aren’t made for it,” he said calmly, but Althaia only seemed to become more distressed.

“B-but my garden! The animals!” she protested, but Apollo held up a hand, stopping her from going on.

“I am not suggesting you leave this wonderful place you’ve curated,” he quickly soothed her, and Althaia’s shoulders slumped in relief. “I simply meant that I would have to visit you, so you don’t get too lonely,” he smiled brightly at her, and Althaia was reminded that he was the sun god as his beautiful grin almost blinded her.

“Oh! You-you don’t need to b-burden yourself with that, my lo-” at Apollo’s look, she cringed. “Apollo,” she amended.

“It’s not at all a burden, I assure you,” his voice was serious as he said this, and he fully turned to her, a huge hand gently grasping her chin to get her to look him in the eyes. “It would be my honor to visit you in such a beautiful place, to be in the company of such a beautiful woman, too” Althaia blushed brightly, trying to avert her eyes, but Apollo simply leaned closer, refusing to allow her to hide. “Would you accept my company?”

“Of course!” she nodded hastily, cheeks a bright red, and Apollo grinned at her.

“Wonderful!” he announced, standing when he realized how much time they had spent in the garden. He had been gone from Olympus for bordering on three hours at this point, and the sun would need to set soon. “Until our next meeting, Althaia,” he bade her, and Althaia bowed her head as he called his chariot, the horses appearing almost instantly before him and allowing him to climb on.

“Goodbye,” Althaia, rose a hand to wave at him as he flew away, going to set the sun. “Apollo,”

* * *

Althaia didn’t expect to see Apollo for months, or perhaps he wouldn’t come back at all. But instead, much to her surprise, he came back only two days later.

This time, Althaia was in her cottage preparing a stew with some of the mushrooms she had gathered. Upon realizing this, Apollo shrunk himself to human size, where he stood around 6 foot 3, and knocked on her door. Althaia let out a shout of surprise, dropping a plate in her shock and cursing when it landed on her toe. She stumbled over to the door, whipping it open to reveal Apollo. It was an overcast day, but the sun god still seemed to shine, as if it was _him_ who was emitting pure light, instead of reflecting the sun’s. Her eyes widened.

“A-Apollo!” she greeted, bowing her head. “I di-didn’t expect you to be back so soon!” Apollo smiled softly at her.

“Why wouldn’t I wish to come back as soon as I could?” he countered, and Althaia blushed. She couldn’t be that important. “May I come in?” Althaia’s eyes widened as she stepped aside, allowing him into her small cottage. He found himself having to duck, the cottage more suitable to people around Althaia’s height. A bed was pushed against one wall, with a window just above it, letting light stream in. On the opposite side of the cottage was a table with a shelf where various bowls and pots were placed, and a window above that. A firepit sat in the middle and two chairs next to the fire pit. There were herb racks lining the walls, and Apollo was surprised to see an easel with a beautiful meadow painted across it.

“You paint?” he asked in surprise, and Althaia blushed as she quickly went to cover the painting.

“Um… yes,” she muttered. “Not very well, though,” Apollo’s hand reached out to stop hers without even a glance as she went to throw a sheet over the canvas.

“I would disagree,” he hummed, finally taking his eyes off the painting to look at her, gently taking the sheet from her hand and throwing it back over the chair it had been draped across. “I think this is beautiful,” he told her, eyes flitting away from her to take in the painting, and Althaia simply gaped at him, unsure of what to say. Now that the two were inside the cottage, Althaia could now see that Apollo _was_ in fact glowing, his golden light showing slightly on the walls and her painting. She found herself feeling… _dull_. Even his eyes were a beautiful golden shade, his blonde flowing hair shining even brighter than a human’s would. She found herself uttering it without really thinking, a stray thought.

“Do you think the moon is jealous of how pretty you are?” she murmured, and Apollo’s eyes widened as he turned away from her painting, fully facing her.

“What?” he had heard her perfectly well, and a small smile was present on his face as he asked her to repeat her question. She blushed, her head ducking down to avoid his gaze.

“I-it’s nothing,” she muttered, and Apollo chuckled, stepping closer to her and hunching his shoulders so he could look her in the eyes. 

“I’m quite sure my twin is prettier than me,” Apollo told her with a soft chuckle, and was pleased to hear Althaia giggle sweetly.

“I’d say you’re both equally pretty,” her voice was still quiet, as if she half-hoped that he wouldn’t hear her, and his smile widened. 

“Why thank you,” he said, accepting her praise. She had met his twin sister, after all. Althaia darted her eyes to the side, avoiding him again. His smile turned down a bit at that, but he tried not to take it personally. She was shy, after spending who knows how long alone with only the animals for company in this forest. Shy and perfect.

Apollo hadn’t realized he was stepping towards her, pulled by an inexplicable force, until Althaia let out a sharp gasp as their chests touched. Her breasts brushed his abdomen as she breathed heavily, and Apollo’s eyes were drawn to a pendant around her neck. It was dull, as if she had worn it for years, but he could still make out the design. It was a half moon, half sun symbol. Apollo’s eyes widened as he lifted his hand to allow his fingers to brush against the pendant. Althaia’s chest stilled as he did so, holding her breath.

“Where did you get this?” he asked, and Althaia smiled shyly.

“You and Artemis gave it to me,” she told him, and Apollo’s hand pulled back as he gasped. That was why her eyes were familiar.

* * *

_There are only two times a day Apollo and Artemis could see each other when they weren’t on Olympus. Dawn and dusk was their time, when the moon and the sun shared their light over the same place, and the twins could enjoy time together._

_Often, they would follow the line across the Earth to spend more time together, making a single dusk or dawn last for hours or days._

_It was dusk on this particular occasion. Artemis was trying and failing to improve Apollo’s skills with a bow. While she was the goddess of the hunt, her twin couldn’t use ranged weapons for the life of him. He pulled the string back, breathing in deeply as Artemis had instructed, and focused on the tree he was aiming for. After a moment, he loosed the arrow, and it went flying… a solid 45 degrees to the left of a tree. Artemis began to sigh disappointedly, but they froze at the sound of a startled squeak. Apollo’s head snapped between her and the direction of the squeak._

_“Did you-”_

_“Let’s go,” was all Artemis uttered before she was sprinting through the forest, through the bushes before Apollo felt like he could even blink. He followed her after only a moment._

_That was not the squeak of an injured animal. That was a child. A human child. Had he just shot a human child with his sister’s bow?_

_Apollo burst through the bushes the arrow had gone through, gasping in relief to see a rabbit with an arrow through its side. He was less relieved, however, to see the small child kneeling next to the rabbit, tears welling up in her eyes. Artemis knelt down next to the child, a hand going to her shoulder._

_“I’m sorry, little one,” she murmured to the girl, who’s head snapped to gape up at the goddess. “We didn’t mean to scare you,” the girl hiccuped, some tears streaming down her cheeks._

_“Did you mean to kill Samis?” she asked accusingly, and Apollo flinched._

_“No,” he muttered, kneeling down on the opposite side of the girl as his sister. “That was my mistake, I’m sorry,” the girl looked up at him sadly._

_“She has three babies,” the girl said, her eyes narrowed, and Apollo and Artemis exchanged a look. “Are you sure you’re sorry?” Apollo cringed, sighing before nodding._

_“I am,” he said to the girl, who turned her bright green eyes to glare directly at him. “How can I prove that to you?” the girl stood suddenly, one hand shooting out to grip Apollo’s finger, unable to even reach his palm to actually grasp his palm. She also reached out to hold Artemis’ skirt. The two gods exchanged awkward glances, before the girl began to lead them further through the forest._

_“Where are you taking us, little one?” Apollo asked, and the girl just looked over her shoulder to shoot him an upset glare. His eyes widened, and he shrugged his shoulders._

_After a minute or so of walking, the girls hands dropped to her sides, and at first the two gods thought that perhaps her small arms had gotten tired being raised so far above her head, but then the girl crouched down in front of a bush, whispering softly._

_“Hey guys,” she murmured, and the gods were stunned when three baby bunnies timidly hopped out of the foliage. “Y-your mom is-isn’t coming back,” she stuttered through some tears, and the baby bunnies seemed to understand her, their ears drooping sadly. “But this guy is gonna take care of you,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder at Apollo, whose eyes widened in shock. Artemis’ hand rose to her mouth to stifle an amused chuckle._

_The girl grabbed the bottom of her skirt, lifting it slightly to make a sort of hammock, and gestured for the bunnies to hop in. They did so without complaint, and she stood, turning to Apollo._

_“Do you know a safe place for them to live?” she asked, and Apollo nodded, a soft smile on his face._

_“I do,” he confirmed._

_“And you will feed them at least twice a day?” she asked, and Apollo nodded again._

_“I will,” he agreed._

_Usually, a god of Olympus would be offended at the audacity of a mortal just presuming that a god would do them a favor. Or presume that the mortal could just_ decide _how a god repays them for a slight. But Apollo found himself endeared to this young girl._

_“Where will you take them?” she asked, and Apollo smiled._

_“I will bring them back to Olympus,” he said, and the girl’s eyes widened._

_“O-Olympus?” she gasped. “Are you-” Apollo nodded, cutting her off._

_“My name is Apollo, this is my twin sister, Artemis,” the girl gasped, bending at the waist in a low bow._

_“I-I’m sorry!” she squeaked, and Artemis sighed, kneeling down next to the girl._

_“Don’t apologize, little one,” she soothed, and the girl took in a deep breath._

_“B-but I-I shouldn’t ha-have,” Artemis cut her off._

_“It’s alright, sweetheart,” she assured the girl, turning to Apollo._

_The mortals would just call it “a twin thing”, but their connection went deeper than that. Upon sharing a look, they both knew exactly what they would do. Artemis place a hand on the girl’s small shoulders, standing and leading her to Apollo. The two gods brought their hands together, a burst of deep blue and yellow light came out from their hands. The girl flinched back, her eyes squinting at the assault to her eyes. When the light faded, the gods held a beautiful pendant between them. One half was the sun, the other the moon._

_“What is your name, little one?” Artemis asked, and the girl blushed._

_“Al-Althaia,” she answered, and Artemis and Apollo smiled. It was the same, radiant smile on their faces, and Althaia couldn’t stop her mouth from falling open in awe._

_“Well, Althaia,” Artemis began. “Accept this token from us,”_

_“As proof that you have done no wrong,” Apollo finished, and the two gods knelt to drape the pendant over her head and around her neck. The girl grinned shyly, and the two gods grinned back. Apollo cupped his hands together, placing them in front of where Althaia held her skirt, and after she nodded, the bunnies hopped into his palms. After a moment, Artemis turned to her brother, whose glow was beginning to fade as night truly began to fall. “Go back to Olympus, I’ll take care of her,” he nodded, calling his chariot to carry him back._

* * *

“Althaia,” Apollo breathed, his hand going to her cheek, gently tilting her chin back so he could meet her eyes. He laughed breathlessly. “They’re still alive, you know,” her eyes widened.

“Wh-what?” she gasped, and Apollo chuckled.

“The three rabbits, they’re still alive,” he repeated. “You didn’t tell me their names, so I had to give them new ones, I hope you don’t mind,” Althaia’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Th-that was t-twenty years ag-ago,” she gasped, and Apollo nodded.

“Olympus is a special place,” he said, and Althaia giggled.

“Really?” she quipped sarcastically, and Apollo grinned at the sass, glad that she was at least coming out of her shell enough to say that.

“-and as such,” he continued, his grin fading to a fond smile. “Aging works differently. For some, it slows, but for others, it stops completely,”

“Wow,” she muttered, and Apollo nodded, his hand finally dropping from her cheek, only to grasp her own.

“Would you like to see them?” he asked, and Althaia’s eyes widened.

“Y-you mean… go to Olympus?” she gasped, and Apollo nodded.

“Of course,” he said, beginning to lead her out of her cottage, calling his chariot. He only stopped when Althaia dug her feet into the ground, eyes wide. “What is it?”

“A-am I even allowed on Olympus?” she asked, and Apollo shrugged.

“Gods are allowed to bring mortals to Olympus, as long as they don’t bring too many,” he told her, eyes warm, and Althaia hesitantly began to follow him once more. She blinked, and suddenly Apollo was 10 feet tall once more, and there was a golden chariot behind him, pulled by beautiful golden horses. His huge hands dropped to her waist, and he raised his brows. “May I?” she nodded, and he lifted her up onto the chariot, stepping on behind her. “Ready?” he asked, and Althaia nodded, this time with more apprehension. 

Apollo clicked his tongue spurring the horses forward, and Althaia screamed when they were suddenly airborne. Apollo laughed, an arm wrapping around her waist and hoisting her higher, so the crown of her head rested just under his chin.

“Relax,” he said in her ear, and Althaia’s hands went down to grasp tightly at his forearm. If he was mortal, Apollo was sure she would’ve scratched his arms deep enough to draw blood. Her looked down, seeing her eyes tightly squeezed shut. “We’re above the clouds, open your eyes,” he told her, and Althaia shook her head.

“It-it’s scary!” she said back, and Apollo’s grip tightened.

“You have no need to be afraid, Althaia,” he said, lips brushing the shell of her ear. Althaia shivered. “I would never let you fall,” he assured her. “Open your eyes, little one, see how beautiful things are from up here,” Althaia nodded this time, taking a deep breath in before opening her eyes. She gasped at the sight that affronted her eyes.

They were above the clouds, indeed, but she could still see through breaks down into the forest. The sun hit the clouds in the most beautiful way, making them shine yellow and orange.

“Wow,” she murmured, and Apollo chuckled.

“Beautiful, right?” he prompted, and Althaia nodded vigorously.

“It’s gorgeous!” she shouted above the wind, and Apollo nodded, tucking his chin against her neck.

“Just like you, little one,” if he had been able to see her face, Apollo would have been both endeared and amused by the fiery blush that took over Althaia’s cheeks.

They rode to Olympus in silence after that, and it wasn’t long before they were in one of the many gardens. Althaia looked around excitedly, turning to Apollo when she didn’t see any of the bunnies.

“Where are they?” she asked, and Apollo chuckled, leading her further through the garden, softly calling for them as he did so.

“Come out!” he called. “Dusk, Ef, Ki!” he continued, and Althaia looked at him in surprise at the names.

Althaia grinned at the rustling of bushes ahead of them, kneeling down just in time for a large rabbit with a soft auburn coat to dart forwards. Without missing a beat, the rabbit lept into her arms, excitedly snuffling at her neck as she embraced him. Apollo chuckled, amused.

“This is Dusk,” he told her as he knelt down beside her. “He’s the most… exuberant of the three,”

_Dusk, when we first met._

Two more equally large rabbits came out after their brother, though more careful with the approach. One, who Althaia remembered had a grey coat last she saw, had a coat of almost pure black, with some brown fur peeking out when the light hit it just right. The other was a light brown color, with a white spot just on his nose. They cautiously sniffed at Althaia’s legs before following their brother into her embrace.

“Ef,” Apollo pointed to the almost-black one. “Ki,” the light brown one.

_Efki, my forest._

After a couple of minutes, Althaia finally raised her head from gazing in adoration at the trio of rabbits, who in that time had shuffled off her lap and were contently laying against her. Tears were in her eyes as she smiled brightly at Apollo, who was taken aback by her expression.

“Th-thank you,” she breathed, and Apollo smiled softly, shifting closer and raising his arm, an invitation if she wished for it. She took it, leaning against Apollo’s side with a happy sigh.

“Of course,” Apollo placed a kiss to her temple, a sign of affection so common for him that he didn’t consider how it would affect a girl with little to no contact with people for possibly years. Althaia flinched, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, to find that he was looking at her adoringly, golden eyes shining. “Anything for you,” he said softly, a whisper that Althaia could barely hear. She smiled shyly, relaxing further into Apollo’s side, content for now to snuggle with the rabbits and the sun god.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be on the lookout for part 2!


	2. Don't Worry Hera + Reader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requested by im-chief-beifong on Tumblr: Could you do a Blood of Zeus Hera X Female!Lover!Reader? Angst #16 where the Reader gets hurt and tries to hide it from her immortal girlfriend?

You were supposed to be back by now.

You had left that morning, stating that you wanted a walk and ‘to feel almost normal for a couple hours’. Whatever that meant.

So Hera dutifully waited for you, not that she could do much else, being in hiding from her fellow Olympians. She waited as morning turned to afternoon, which bled into evening, and now the sun had almost fully set.

Just as she stood to go out and look for you, hiding be damned, the door to your cabin slowly creaked open, and you stumbled in, lugging a bag full of grains and fruits with you. Hera called out your name in a mix of greeting and relief, and you looked up at her, lips quirking into a small smile.

“What took so long?” Hera asked, coming over to take the heavy bag from you and placing it by the kitchen in the space you were using as a pantry. One of the perks of having an immortal lover: she could carry practically anything, including you, without breaking a sweat.

“Oh,” you shrugged as Hera peered at you questioningly. She briefly noted that you looked a touch paler than normal. “I got held up in town, lost track of time,” you told her, tilting your head up to look her in the eyes as she came back over to stand directly in front of you, index finger reaching up and curling under your chin.

“It’s alright, my love,” she assured you, wanting to convey that she had been more concerned about your safety, but wasn’t upset with you. She leaned down to give you a sweet kiss on the lips, which you returned with a happy hum, and Hera smiled as she pulled away. You shot her a bright, if slightly strained, grin back and began to make your way towards your shared bedroom.

“I’m gonna get cleaned up and change real quick,” you told her, seeing her nod in acknowledgement before you closed the bedroom door behind you.

As soon as the door was shut, you let out a long, pained sigh and slumped against the door. You stayed there for a moment, leaning heavily against the door, gathering your strength before you pushed off the door and moved towards the large bed on the other side of the room. The couple of steps felt like a daylong hike to you, and you took your dress off as you did so, discarding it in a heap on the floor, to be picked up and put away later. You sat down on the bed, gritting your teeth to suppress the grunt of pain that tried to escape your lips with the movement. You took in a deep breath, wincing slightly as it tugged something in your abdomen, and looked down. You winced again at the sight of the already deep purple bruise across your ribcage. 

Something was definitely cracked, if not broken.

A knock on the door startled you, and you let out a pained hiss at the jump you did,

“Darling?” Hera called through the door “Are you alright?” you took a deep breath.

“Yes!” you called back, hoping the pain you felt didn’t seep into your voice. “Just tired, give me another minute!” you heard her footsteps echoing as she walked away from the door, and sighed in relief. You immortal, physical-pain-isn’t-even-a-concept-to-me lover did  _ not _ need to know about the giant bruise on your abdomen.

You leaned forward, reaching for a drawer in the bedside table where you kept a jar of healing salve made specially for bruises, which sat next to a couple of other… more pleasant items that you and Hera shared. As you tugged the drawer open, something in your ribs screamed at you, and you couldn’t think to stifle the shout you let out through the searing pain, white flashing in front of your eyes for a moment.

You heard hurried footsteps and Hera calling your name before the door slammed open. Your lover stood in the doorway, eyes quickly zeroing in on the bruise, and said eyes narrowed. She rushed forward, taking the salve out of the drawer and unscrewing the lid.

“Who did this to you?” she demanded darkly as she dipped her fingers into the jar to gather some of the salve, not even batting an eye at your nakedness. You looked away as she started to gently apply the salve on the bruise, your cheeks warming in embarrassment. Not at the nudity, she had witnessed your naked body plenty of times in the past, but at being caught.

“Danté,” you answered. “He’s an ass,” Hera growled.

“I’ll kill him,” she swore, her hand not smearing the salve on your ribs cupping your cheek to make you turn and look at her. You sighed, shaking your head.

“No,” you sighed. “He’s a  _ literal _ ass,” you told her. “I startled him and he kicked me,” Hera’s eyes widened as she realized Danté was a donkey.

“Oh,” she muttered, some of the darkness leaving her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, voice soft and a little hurt. Your eyes darted away from her once more.

“Didn’t wanna worry you,” you mumbled, and Hera sighed, wiping her hands off before grabbing a bandage and beginning to wind it around your torso.

“I worry about you regardless, my love,” she told you, leaning in to give you a soft, lingering kiss. You returned the gesture, reaching up to try to pull her down to your level so you could kiss her properly, the way you wanted to, but she tutted, pulling away and finishing wrapping the bandage. You pouted at her, to which she shook her head with a fond, if a little exasperated smile.

“I’ll get started on dinner,” she said, straightening and sauntering out of the bedroom, giggling at your answering whine.

“Hera! That’s not fair!”


	3. Beat His Ass! Hermes + Reader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off a request on Tumblr, ended up much more platonic than I wanted.  
> Request: Could I please request a Hermes x reader one shot! I’d love if you could write up an excitable / energetic reader who’s friends with and joins Heron when he trains on Mount Olympus. And Hermes see’s her in the stands just having the time of her life watching that metal soldier beat Heron to a pulp.. and he decides that he just has to talk to her!

“Yeah! Beat that boy’s ass!” your voice could be heard over the sound of Heron grunting and the clanging of the spear wielded by Hephaestus’ mechanical soldier hitting against Heron’s armor, or when he was lucky, his shield.

“I thought you were here for moral support!” Heron shouted up at you in between 5 second bouts, which mainly consisted of him swinging his sword only to get thrown on his ass, or across the colosseum-esque training field. You only laughed gleefully, sitting on the railing of the balcony next to Hephaestus and his little(well, really the size of your torso but little to him) owl, who occasionally let you give him little pats on the head.

“Yeah! This is for  _ my _ moral support!” you shouted down to him, Hephaestus giving an amused grunt. “You’ve got a godly dad for that!” Heron grimaced, raising his shield and turning back to the mechanical soldier. In 5 seconds, Heron was once more flung backwards, landing in a heap.

“Should I start timing how long he lasts or something?” you asked Hephaestus, who merely shrugged. You giggled, turning back to see Heron fling his sword at the mechanical soldier, who easily dodged it.

“Well that was intelligent,” you laughter began to turn hysterical when Heron then flung his shield at the solider, who caught it and flung it right back at him. You began to wheeze, trying desperately to take in air through your fit of laughter.

“You laugh any harder, I fear you may fall off,” you jumped at a new voice and the feeling of two large hands encircling your waist and plucking you off the railing, placing you the ground.

“Oh, uh… hello,” you murmured, looking up, and up, and having to tilt your head up even further to look the newcomer in the eyes. It was Hermes, the messenger god. His blue eyes twinkled in amusement as you blushed, looking to Hephaestus for help. The smithy god had been the first one to introduce himself to you, showing you around some of Olympus, and he had kind of become your comfort person while you were here surrounded by gods who all were twice as tall as you.

“I am Hermes, I didn’t have the pleasure of introducing myself last night,” he smiled gently, holding out his hand, and you smiled back, reaching up to shake it, echoing a greeting with your name tacked on.

“Has he made any progress?” the god asked, stepping closer to you to look over the railing and down into the training field. You snorted.

“If being flung across the field multiple times after employing the same strategy each time is progress, then of course!” you quipped, standing on your tip toes to try to see over the railing. Hephaestus rolled his eyes, gripping you by the back of your robe and lifting you back up onto the railing. Hermes and him exchanged a look, but the smithy only shrugged. “Thank you,” you chirped, looking down to see Zeus kneeling down next to Heron, giving him a peptalk.

“So um… he’s your dad too, any chance his peptalk will be awe inspiring and bring about any sort of development?” you asked the two gods next to you, both of which sighed.

“None,” Hephaestus grunted, at the same time as Hermes said “maybe,” Hermes sighed, adjusting his answer.

“Most likely, no,” you chuckled, your legs swinging back and forth as you watched Zeus walk away, Heron picking up his shield once more. Taking a deep breath before running at the soldier with a scream. You laughed again, shouting down at Heron. “That was better! Really! A lot better than the other 12 times you did the exact same thing!” you just laughed harder when you could vaguely make out the man flipping you off. So you cheered for your friend, but mostly for the mechanical soldier beating him up, for the better part of the day, providing amusing commentary for Hephaestus and Hermes, the latter of which found himself endeared to you rather quickly. 

At the end of the day, when the soldier lay destroyed in the field, Hermes sighed, turning to you. 

“Would you like to get some food?” he asked, eyes squinting closed as he smiled at you, clearly trying not to think about the hopelessness of his little demigod halfbrother. “You must be hungry by now,” you nodded, swinging your legs over the railing so you could hop down, only to squeak in surprise when a familiar pair of hands gripped your waist, lifting you and setting you down on the ground.

“Thanks,” you murmured, a little shy at the contact, before perking up slightly. “Lead the way to food!” you gestured dramatically, and the god chuckled, turning and beginning to lead you through a series of gardens.

“So how do you know Heron?” Hermes asked. “Why come with him to Olympus?” you snorted.

“Neither of them were much of a choice,” at Hermes’ concerned look, you rushed to amend your words. “Neither of them were a problem either!” you rushed out. “It’s just, I was orphaned pretty young and Heron brought me home like a stray dog one day, just decided for me that I was his kid sister. He’s a couple years older, and he’s always been strong, so he just hoisted me over his shoulder, brought me to their little cottage, and was like  _ mom can we keep her? _ ” Hermes gaped down at you at the story. You giggled.

“Really?” you nodded.

“Don’t worry, as soon as I was big enough I gave him a good walloping for talking about me like I was some stray animal,” Hermes chuckled hesitantly. “Of course, they were tough on money, so I would come and go of my own accord, much like a stray I suppose,” you continued your story. “If it was raining I would usually stay with them, but if the clouds were peaceful than I wouldn’t bother them,” you sighed. “And then one day this weird, wise old man showed up,” Hermes glanced at you out of the corner of his eyes, and you nodded. “Yes, the  _ exact _ weird, wise old man you’re thinking about,” Hermes sighed fondly. “He told us a lot of stories, mainly about the gods,” you eyed Hermes with an amused smile. “Rather vain, now that I look back,” and Hermes laughed slightly, at that.

“No one ever accused us of humility,” he granted you, and you giggled.

“But anyway, when the uh… when the demons took me and Heron, we were separated,” you shivered at the memory. “I wasn’t strong enough to be below deck rowing, so they had me cook, not that I’m very good at that,” you scrunched up your nose a bit. “Everything after that was… a bit of a blur,” you cringed. “Heron and the others got us all free… and then the lightning struck… and I think there was a glowing sword? I don’t know, I hit my head when we rammed into that other boat,” when you looked up at Hermes, you saw the said look on his face at your story, and quickly switched your tone. “But um… yeah! That’s how I ended up here!” you giggled nervously, and Hermes narrowed his eyes slightly, putting a (big, why were the gods so big?) hand on your shoulder as he knelt down to your height.

“You are incredibly strong to have gone through all that,” he said with a soft, encouraging smile. “And I am glad that the fates have guided our threads to cross here,” you smiled shyly.

“Yeah, me too,” you muttered, before you stomach gurgled. You jumped at the sound and feeling, pink coming to your cheeks, and Hermes laughed.

“Well, let’s get you fed, shall we?” you nodded with a small smile, glad to have made another friend here on Olympus.

**Author's Note:**

> Be on the lookout for part 2!


End file.
